George broacpi



(No Model.)

3301x011. AUTOMATIG LOCK GEARBD RAILWAY SWITCH: No. 466,295. PatentedDec. 29,1891.

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m: News PE UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE BROACI-I, OF EAST ST. LOUIS, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT ANDMESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE ACME RAILWAY SIVITOH COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC LOCK-GEARED' RAILWAY-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 466,295, dated December29, 1891. Application filed December 10, 1890. Serial No. 374,243. (Nomodel.) I

To all whom it may concern: connect relatively with either the siding orBe it known that I, GEORGE BROACH, of main track. When the switch isthrown, East St. Louis, in the county of St. Clair and the rails slideon the anti-wear plates 9, that State of Illinois, have invented acertain new are secured to the cross-ties 1 by spikes 10.

5 and useful Improvement inAutomatic Look- The said switch-rails areconnected by tie- Geared Railway-Switches, of which the folrods 11,whose ends are provided with clutches lowing is a full, clear, and exactdescription, 12, that grasp the foot-flanges of the rails.

' reference being had to the accompanying The switching tie-rod 13,near. the adjustdrawings, forming part of this specification. able endsof said switch-rails, is secured to 10 This invention relates to devicesfor the the rails by clutches 14, that grasp their automatic throw ofswitch-rails, with equalizfoot-flanges, as do those of the othertie-rods. ing connections between the two throws; and This switchingtie-rod is provided with bifurthe invention consists in features ofnovelty cated arms 15, that form an extension outside hereinafter fullydescribed, and pointed out the track, and within the perforate bearingsr 5 in the claims. in said arms and the corresponding bearing of FigureI is a plan view of my automatic the connecting switch-rod 16 the pivotscrewswitch, showing the main track and siding bolt 17 is seated. Theperforate drive-head and the automatic devices for throwing the 18 attheother end of said rod, in correspondswitch into line by the passingtrain, either ence with the crank-head 19 of the crank 20,

20 from the main track or siding, and also shows which is integral withand governs the switch the combined equalizing and coupling bar. shaft21, is pivotally connected by the screw- Fig. II is a section taken online '11 II, Fig. I, bolt or wrist-pin 22. and shows the .action of theoperating-bar in The switch-shaft has its bearings within throwing theswitch. Fig. III is an enlarged the journal-boxes 23, which aresecuredto the 2 5 detailof the same bar and of the rack and longcross-ties 24 (that carry the drive system pinion that works it; andFig. IV is an enof the switches) by spikes or bolts 25. 26are largedhorizontal section of the hinge-strap, the cross-ties of intermediatelength that unand shows the hinged connection of the heels derlie boththe main track and siding.

of the short switch-rails to the stationary rails The crank-arm 20 ofthe switch-shaft 21 is of both the main and siding tracks, with whichweighted with the ball 27, that is carried by they connect. 1 the lever28, which lever is an extension of Referring to the drawings, in whichsimilar. the crank-arm, with which it-is integral, and figures ofreference indicate like parts in all has a knuckle connection or offsetat 29 from the views, 1 represents the cross-ties; 2, the the same. Theside of this ball, after either 5. railsof the main track; 3, the railsof the side its forward or back throw, is seated in one of 8 5 track,and 4 the short twin switch-rails that the curved recesses 63 in theadjacent crossare alternately and automatically thrown into tie. line,according as the train is coming from The short switch-rails 4 arerelatively sethe main track on the one hand or the siding cured, one ofthem to one of the rails 2 of the 40 on the other, in either case cominginto line main track and the other to one of the sidwith the main trackahead. ing-rails 3, by the hinges 30, which are se- 5 represents thelong twin switch rails, cured to the co-operative rails by screw-boltswhose normal position is on line with the main 31, and said switch-railsslide on the wean track. (See Fig. I.) The said long switchplates 32,that are secured to the cross-tic 5 rails at their stationary ends buttagainst that underlies the middle'of said switch-rails, thecorresponding stationary track-rails and by spikes 33, also on thecombined wear and are seated in the slot-bed 6 of the rail-chairsjunction chair-plates 34, which are spiked to 7, which are securedbyspikes 8. The flanges the long cross-tie beneath them by the spikes ofthe chair allow suflicient movement of 35. These latter plates carry(cast integral 50 the switching ends of the rails to and fro totherewith) the three-quarter-section chairs 36 I00 and quarter-sectionchairs 37, that respect ively hold said switch-rails at both limits oftheir throws, and the short junction-rail 238 of the main track and thedivergent j nnctionrail 39 of the siding.

40 are like combined wear and chair plates, which are secured to thelong cross-tie beneath them by spikes ll, and which carry (cast integraltherewith) the three-quartersection chairs 42, on which are tight-seatedsaid short j auction-rails, and the outside main and siding rails, andon which play to and fro, as they are thrown, the long switch-rails andare seated at the limit of their throws in their chairs.

43 are chair-plates that carry (castintegral therewith) thesection-chairs -14, that hold, respectively, one each of the stationarymaintrack and siding rails, and the hinged end of the shortswitch-rails, and which plates are secured to the cross-ties thatunderlie them by the spikes 45.

46 represents the sectional switching tierod that ties the adjustableends of the short switch-rails 4. The said tie-rod is pivotallyconnected to clips 17 by screw-bolts 48. The clips are integral with andcarry the railclips 49.

50 represents the drive-rod that governs the short switches, with thetie-rod of which it connects by the vertical pivot 51, which surmountsits disk-head terminal 52. (See Fig. II.) The said pivot ascends througha perforation 53 in the tie-rod.

54 represents a rack-bar that seats the corresponding terminal of thedrive-rod between its bifurcated arms 55, (see Fig. 1H,) and ispivotally connected therewith by the bolt 56, which is seated in theperforate bearings 57 in both said corresponding parts. The rackbarworks within the channel-groove 58 in the bed-block 59, and issurmounted by rackteeth or cogs 60, which engage with and are engaged bythe cogs 61 of the pinion-wheel 62, which is carried on the adjacent endof the switch-shaft 21.

(34: represents a compound equalizing-bar, which has centralpivotrbearings at 65 in both the bar and in the middle long cross-tie. Aking or master bolt 66 is seated in said hearing, itshead resting on thewasher 67. 68 is a pivot-bolt that is seated in one of the bearings 69in the ends of said equalizing-bar and in the switching tie-rod 13. Theother end bearing 69 of said equalizingbar is seated and held on theaforesaid vertical pivot5l, which pierces and surmounts the tie-rod 46,that couples the short switch-rails 4:. It will be seen that the saidequalizing-bar enforces the co-operative action (at the end of whichitis located of the switch system) of all the switches to and from themain track and siding if at any time the co-operative switch-shaft 21,its pinion-rack orconnections should be crippled, so that still theautomatic action of the train as itleaves the siding and switch systemand of the nianumotive action of the ball-lever as the train approachessaid system is still operative, as by diverse means the equalizingbartilaud the switching-shaft 21 perform the same functions in thesimultaneous throw of the switches. The equalizing-bar in itscooperative drive of the whole switch system is an equalizer of thestrain on the cooperative pivot'bearings, so that the rack and strain,being divided up, are not so severe on any one point. It is also seenthat as the switching tierod 46, that governs the short switches thatcommunicate both with the main track and siding, is of sectionalconstruction, connecting by clips to the chairs that seat saidswitchrails, therefore, should the connection with the drive-rack andthe switch-shaft 21 at any time be crippled, then by disconnecting thepivot-bolt of the clip on the crippled side and spiking the switch-railon line with its connecting'track the switch-rail on said crippled sideis again operative while awaiting the necessary repairs. So, also,should both sides be crippled, by removing both pivot-pins from theirrelative clips, and in that case also the connecting-pin at that end ofthe equalizingbar, both switch-rails being then spiked to theirconnecting-lines, the track is kept open and does not have to wait onrepairs.

70 represents a bracket-bearer that carries the out terminal end of therack-bar 5% within the boxing 71, and said bracket-bearer is scoured tothe adjacent long cross-tie by screwbolts 72. )Vhen it is desired tolock the switches from being thrown eitherautomatically or otherwise,the stop-pin 73, which is held captive by the chain 7 4: to the staple75, that projects from said bracket, is inserted in its perforate seat76 in the bracket 70 and the rack-bar 54, thus preventing the switchfrom being thrown. This feature is of importance when atrain has beenside-tracked, and consequently the siding is pre-engaged, or when fromany other cause it is not desired that the siding shall be used. It isalso a hinderance to the wanton throwing of the switches by passing boysor unauthorized persons. At the same time it will be understood that inthe usual condition of the road and other contingent circumstances thestop-pin will not be used, as the most important features in theinvention are the provision of an automatic switching system in whichthe trains passing from either the main track or siding to the maintrack ahead throw the switches to lead in line with said track.

I have shown and described one end only of the siding switch system. Itis understood that at the other terminal of the side track the switchsystem shown in the drawings and described above is duplicated.

In operation, when a train approaches the switch-siding system, if theswitches are in their normal position (on line straight through for themain track) the ball of the weighted switch-lever, which rests in itscurved recessed seat, so as to hold the switch-lever below its centerbearing, thus prevents all danger by the vibration of the train on thetrack of the lever beingthrown, and thus side-tracking the train. If, onthe other hand, it is required to side-track the train, the ball-leveris thrown by hand, which is the only part of the operation that is notautomatic, and it is preferred that this initial act in side-tracking atrain should always be manumotive, so that a train should never take thesiding except by a special act at the time of a responsible For the samereason, also, immediately after a train switches from the siding to themain track the switch-lever should be reversed to keep the main linealways open, except while side-tracking. Should, however, thisprecaution be accidentally or fortuitously omitted, unless another trainoccupies the side track, my automatic switches, by the action of thetrain itself, will be thrown into line with the main track at the farend of the siding, so as to return the train to the main track. It willbe seen that when a train is leaving the switch-siding system, whetherthe train is approaching from the main track or the siding, Whicheverway the switches point (as left by the previous train) the flanges ofthe locomotive-wheels will automatically set the switches if not on lineto run the train on the main line ahead. For instance, in Fig.

I the switches have been thrown in line for approaching trains on themain track, because the last incoming train from that direction haspassed over the main track; but a freight has probably been side-trackedto allow the express or other passenger train to pass and, the trackbeing clear, is now ready to pull out. Now it will be seen that all thewheels on the off side of the locomotive and all but the front wheel onthe near side are firmly seated on and their flanges againststationaryrailswhenthefrontnearwheelcontacts with the short'switch-rail,on which it is about to travel, and its flange presses against the sidethereof and throws the switch, bringing its stub end in line with theshort junctionrail, sliding the connecting switch-rod and rack-bar, therack of which drives the pinion and its switching-shaft, therebythrowing the ball-crank lever 28, which in its turn by its connectingswitch-rods in line with said junction-rail and with the off siding-railand the automatic double switch-throw has been effected before thesecond wheel has touched the switch-rail. In the meantime the compoundequalizing bar 64, swinging on its pivot-bearing on the middle longcross-tie 24 and pivotally connected to the tierods of both throws,equalizes the strainand thereby co-operatively overcomes any undue orsevere friction of individual parts, (on which in such devices thestrain is frequently too much concentrated.) It also couples the twothrows and still further enforces their simultaneous movement; also,should the ball-crank and pinion-rack movement at any time be crippledin theinterim before there is time to repair, the equalizing-bar, beingalso a couplingbar, will effect the simultaneous automatic throw untilrepairs can be effected, although not with the same ease as with thepinionrack and ball-crank combination.

Another especially important feature in the invention is that not onlydoes the train throw its own switches, but it also looks its throw. Eachand every succeeding wheel on the passing train re-enforces the lock ofthe thrown switch, whose throw the first wheel effected, and thus makesit impossible by anyaccident to rethrow the switch, for by the clampaction of the wheels and the double-joint action through theequalizing-bar and co-operative switching-shaft it has an enforced coadjutory agreement,and consequently the switch never can be thrownautomatically, manumotively, or accidentally under the train. A fruitfulsource of loss from accidents of this class is thus avoided; also,ill-disposed individuals cannot abuse the switch while a train ispassing, as has frequently been done to derail the train. The crank-ballof the switchlever after each throw falls into one of its recessed seats63, so as to pass its center bearings and not be rethrown on too slightaprovocation.

My invention is also applicable in conjunction with split switches, andin which latter case it is preferred to elongate the lockswitch system,in which case duplex equalizers may be used by placing said equalizerslongitudinally to each other with pivotal con' nection, so as to act asdoes the single equal- 1 izer, as shown and described, only over alonger stretch to adapt it to the split-switch system. It is alsoevident that my lockswitch is well adapted for cross-junction du plexswitch systems, for when the switch on one line is thrown and inpossession of the train running on said line the cross-train cannotthrow its switch, for the switch system is locked by the train that hasalready switch ed and has the right of way. Therefore even in saidextreme case a cross-track collision would be prevented. V

I claim as my invention- 1. In a railway-switch, the combination, withthe main and the siding rails, the switchrails 5, and the junction-rails38 39, of the short switch-rails hinged to the rails on which theyswing, the sectional switching tie-rod 46, rail-clips in which saidshort switch-rails are seated, detachably secured to the sections ofsaid rod 46, the rod 13, connecting the long switch-rails, the pivotedequalizing-bar having its ends connected to said rod 13 and to saidsectional rod 46, the crank-shaft 21, the rod 50, detachably secured torod 46 and having rack-andpinion connectionwith said shaft, and a barconnecting said shaft with the rod 13, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

2. In a railway-switch, the combination, with the main and the sidingrails and the junction-rails 38 39, of the short and long IIS twinswitch-rails, the wear-plates under said switch-rails, the junctionchair-plates, the quarter and three-quarter section rail chairs castintegral with said plates and adapted to seat the switch-rails at bothlimits of their throw, the switch sectional tie-rod 46, the combinedswitching chairs and clips detachably connected with said tiered, theswitch tierod13,and the compound pivotal equalizing of the bar 54.,whicl1,in conjunction with said switch crank-shaft, is adapted tooperate and make co-operati ve the corresponding switches under theautomatic action of the advancing train, and the stop-pin 73 for stayingthe throw of the switch when it is required to be inoperative,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a railway-switch, the drive-rod 50, the pivot-bolt 51, thebracket-bearing 70, the rackbar 54:, the bifurcated arm 55, thepivot-bolt 56, and the bed-block provided with thechannel-grooveguideway 59, in which said rack-bar is mounted,substantially as and for the pur pose set forth.

GEORGE BROAUII.

\Vitnesses:

BENJN. A. KNIGHT, SAML. KNIGHT.

